Why you should be rooting for Iowa.

Before yesterday's set of games, it looked like MSU and OSU had the opportunity to go undefeated through the season. OSU would have won the bid to the Rose Bowl because of the 3rd tiebreaker in the conference (BCS). OSU lost last night, so now it looks like MSU is in position to go to the Rose Bowl. Even if they have a Sparty, No! game against a lesser opponent, tie breakers give them the go ahead for the Rose Bowl.

Here are the rules for determining the Rose Bowl bid:
1. Conference record
2. Head-to-Head
3. Overall record
4. BCS rank in final poll.

I don't think anyone would argue against taking Purdue and NW out of the discussion. One looks horrible and the other lost to the first one. This isn't to say they can't have an effect on the other teams, but that they are unlikely to win the rest of their games in the conference.

So, now we have MSU, Iowa, Wisconsin, and OSU. For the purposes of this post, let's assume that none of them lose to any teams not in this list. Obviously, this can happen, but it is unlikely and has a small probability of happening.

Between these 4 teams, there are 6 possible matchups. 2 have been played (MSU vs. Wisconsin, Wisconsin vs. OSU), 1 will not be played (MSU vs. OSU), and 3 are still to come (Iowa vs. MSU, Iowa vs. OSU, Iowa vs. Wisconsin). As you may have noticed Iowa has not played any of the other 3 teams, therefore, they can essentially decide who goes to the Rose Bowl with which games they win and lose.

If Iowa loses to MSU, MSU goes to the Rose Bowl. MSU would have Head-to-Head advantage over the other 3 teams, not to mention a 1 game lead.

If Iowa beats MSU, there are 4 possibilities:

Beat OSU, Beat Wisconsin: Iowa is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten. They are in the same situation that MSU is if MSU wins their matchup.

Beat OSU, Lose to Wisconsin: Three-way tie between MSU, Wisconsin, and Iowa in conference record and Head-to-Head. Iowa gets eliminated for their loss to Arizona. MSU wins the Head-to-Head against Wisconsin.

In 6 of 8 scenarios, MSU wins the Big Ten. If Iowa beats MSU, the only way they win the Big Ten is if Wisconsin beats Iowa. OSU is hoping for the perfect storm where Iowa takes down MSU and Wisconsin for them and also bends over for them. Wisconsin's only hope right now is for MSU to Sparty, No! this season. Ironically, Wisconsin's Big Ten hopes were probably over before they started.

Then your post. The negativity bullshit on here has gotten ridiculous. Don't like a posts content then move on to the next one. I only negbang once in awhile, but when I see someone ripping a post that doesn't deserve it, on top of the fact that you are at negative points shows me you need to chill out bro. Take it easy on some of these guys. Slow down on the negative comments for all our sakes.

Sir, I ask you- would you rather have MSU or Iowa go to the Rose Bowl? Obviously it depends on where you live, but in Michigan, with Sparties all around. Their Rose Bowl would be a new embarassment to us.

I want Michigan to win more than anything in sports. But just after that, is MSU not going to the BCS in football. It's . . . malignant.

MSU has an incredible inside track right now. Beat Iowa, and we are in hell for an entire year. I grew up near Lansing. I had the opportunity to decline all the "ROSES!" green and white bumper stickers being handed out for free at almost every Lansing business in the late fall of 1987.

All I can say to you, Ricky Stanzi and the Iowa team, is "America . . . Fuck Yeah!"

"Coach, if you need one yard, I'll get you three yards. If you need five yards, I'll get you three yards." -Leroy Hoard

After Michigan the only other team I root for in the Big Ten is Iowa. I just like them for some reason. But Courtney Avery's missed tackle is going to haunt me just like Denard's pick last year, so I'll still be kinda pissed at Iowa for a while.

The head-to-head doesn't work like that. A team only wins if they have beaten both of the other teams themselves, a team is only eliminated if they have lost to both of the other teams. In the situation you're suggesting, neither of those situations apply, so the head-to head rule does not apply and it moves down to the overall record.

(Sorry for repeating this a little, I noted this in response to another point and referred to this comment as well, but got the comment wrong and didn't realize it was the OP so I thought it would be good to repeat myself.)

Since Sparty and OSU don't play, if Michigan State loses any game and OSU wins out, they have the same conference record, no head-to-head, and the same overall record, so it would go down to BCS ranking which I think would probably favor OSU.

To correct another poster, a three way tie between OSU, Wisco, and MSU skips the head-to-head tie-breaker. For head-to-head to apply , the teams must all have actually played each other, there's no transitive property (that MSU beat Wisco who beat OSU doesn't matter). See http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102204aad.html

I dont' think You're being too hypocritical by making posts like this and claiming MSU isn't a rival of U of M at all. Keep it up and keep saying MSU isn't a rival. You don't care...................... Right? :)

MSU isn't our main rival...at all. Sparty is that neighbor's annoying dog who keeps humping your leg when it gets excited. It's the annoyance factor that makes us wish for Sparty's collapse, not the "rivalry".

MSU is on the same level as PSU, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Illinois. A win is a win, a loss is a loss, we should beat them every year, but I don't hate them like a rival. What makes a win preferential is that I actually have to deal with MSU fans on a fairly regular basis. If I had to listen to an Illinois fan talk about how we were rivals all year and how Juice Williams owned us, they would move up on my preferential wins list too, but I still wouldn't call it a rivalry. I don't have to deal with ND or OSU fans, but I still want to beat that team every year.